Yearbook Political Theology

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The Yearbook Political Theology is a series of books that has been published annually by the Peter Lang publishing house since 1996 and has been published at irregular intervals since the third volume . It goes back to the group of students of the Catholic theologian Johann Baptist Metz and wants to offer a forum for the new political theology founded by Metz . The individual volumes, each dedicated to one main topic, contain interdisciplinary studies on the relationship between religion and politics, between Christianity and political culture at the borders of European modernity.

The series is edited by Torsten Habbel, Hans-Gerd Janßen , Ottmar John , Jürgen Manemann , Michael J. Rainer, Claus Urban, Bernd Wacker and José Antonio Zamora. One or more of them act as editors of the individual volumes.

Volume 1: Democracy Capability

Volume 1 (1996) deals with the topic “ Democracy Capability ” with the situation of our present society after the collapse of real socialism and the reunification of Germany .

Volume 2: Ban on images

With the ban on images , Yearbook 2 (1997) again focuses on a topic that is not only theologically central, but also affects the center of our culture. In the advancing expansion of multimedia communication , the dictate of visibility is evident. Against the flood of images and their seemingly omnipotent mechanisms - however justified - a defense is formed. The yearbook on the ban on images wants to intervene in the discussion of this situation.

Volume 3: Limited Time

In Volume 3 (1999) the theology's time index is worked out in a discursive way: “Anyone who believes they think in a Christian way and thinks they think so without a deadline is idiotic” ( Jacob Taubes ). To think of time as a deadline - that is the task of theology. An apocalyptically sharpened speech from God refuses mere facticity by attempting to reveal its character of rulership and to break a horizon from which history in its structure of domination and subjugation is exposed and recognizable in its subjectively experienced structure of suffering and hope. Such a design provokes a controversial discussion in the age of acceleration and time forgetting. The task of Volume 3 is to challenge this discussion in concert with other disciplines (sociology, philosophy , political science , aesthetics, etc.).

Volume 4: Monotheism

Volume 4 (2002) joins the current discourse on monotheism. With this topic the center of political-theological thought is up for debate. The yearbook begins with the question of the connection between ethics and monotheism and focuses on the criticism of ethical monotheism in the late 20th century. The volume contains analyzes of current antimonotheisms in (post) modern society and in Christian trinity theological interpretations . In particular, the understanding of monotheism that Jan Assmann outlined in his studies and his attempt to rehabilitate the enemy images inherent in monotheism, namely Egypt and polytheism , are at issue. In addition to a detailed review of popular science attacks against biblical monotheism, projects are presented that feed the problematic contexts outlined here into the social discourse.

Volume 5: Political Theology - proofread

Volume 5 (2008) deals with the question: “Who needs political theology?” A sketch of the history of the term “political theology” is provided. The relationship to secularization comes up. Relations between political theology and social ethics and psychotherapy are discussed. There is also a debate on the concept of post-secularity .

Volume 6/7: Extra ecclesiam… On the institution and criticism of the church

Volume 6/7 (2013) starts with the question: “What does church actually mean?” At the center of the volume are the cornerstones of a political-theological ecclesiology . These are discussed from a biblical-theological, historical, systematic and practical-theological perspective. Finally, Johann Baptist Metz and Franz-Xaver Kaufmann, among others, comment on the understanding of the Church in the New Political Theology .

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